Prophets of Rage Rock New York City’s Apollo Theater With Support From Living Colour [Photos]

There are lots of reason to use the word “legendary” to describe the Prophets of Rage show last night (Sept. 12) at the Apollo Theater in New York City: The band combines the legendary talents of Rage Against the Machine, Public Enemy and Cypress Hill; the Apollo Theater is a legendary venue; and opening act Living Colour are legendary in their own right.

Prophets of Rage kicked off their set with the song “Prophets of Rage,” their update of the Public Enemy song from which they took their band name, followed by the new song “Unf—k the World” off their self-titled album, which drops this Friday (Sept. 15). Other new tracks performed during the evening were "Living on the 110" and "Strength in Numbers."

With Public Enemy’s Chuck D and Cypress Hill’s B-Real taking turns on the mics, backed by the masterful playing of RATM members Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk, not to mention the turntable talents of DJ Lord, Prophets of Rage powered through hits spanning all of their careers.

The Rage Against the Machine songs got the biggest reaction of the night, and the upper mezzanine of the Apollo was literally shaking up and down (to the point where it was a bit scary) while the band played tracks like “Testify,” “Guerrilla Radio” and “Sleep Now in the Fire.” Meanwhile, songs like Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” and Cypress Hill’s “How I Could Just Kill a Man” had the crowd singing along, as well.

Midway through the set, the RATM members took the stage by themselves, with Morello taking time to pay tribute to the late Chris Cornell. The band then played an instrumental version of Audiosoave’s “Like a Stone,” with the crowd providing the vocals.

The one-two punch of RATM’s “Bulls on Parade” and “Killing in the Name” ended the set, and it was quite a sight to see and hear the band and the fans, with middle fingers in the air, screaming the final song’s famous refrain, “F—k you, I won’t do what you tell me,” to close out the night.

While it would be great to see the reclusive Zack de la Rocha back onstage with his RATM bandmates again one day, Prophets of Rage are carrying the torch for politically charged and socially aware songs that pack a powerful punch both lyrically and musically -- and there's no denying the level of talent the band possesses.

Living Colour opened the evening with set of classic tracks and new songs off their latest album, Shade, as concertgoers got to witness Corey Glover’s impressive vocals and Vernon Reid’s virtuoso guitar skills. The set-closer “Cult of Personality” got the fans out of their seats and on their feet, setting the stage for the energy that was to come from Prophets of Rage.

Check out our exclusive photo gallery of Prophets of Rage and Living Colour at the Apollo above. Prophets of Rage's self-titled debut album come out this Friday, and is available here. See the band's upcoming tour dates here.

Watch Prophets of Rage Perform "Bulls on Parade" at the Apollo Theater